What is Baptism?

In the book of Exodus, which is a book of pictures, we have a remarkable picture of baptism. The New Testament speaks in various places regarding the significance of baptism. However it is exceedingly helpful to ponder the picture of baptism in the book of Exodus.

If we have the kind of understanding that was given to Paul in 1 Corinthians 10, where he speaks of baptism, we will see that in the sight of God the Red Sea was one huge baptistry. The children of Israel passed through on dry land, the sea having been divided. They emerged on the other side safe and sound. When Pharaoh with his armies attempted to follow them, they perished in the waters of the Red Sea. On the one hand, the waters of the Red Sea were a salvation to the people of Israel. On the other hand, these same waters meant the destruction of Pharaoh and his armies.

The waters of baptism signify both death and resurrection. When a believer enters into the water, that is a burial. When this believer emerges from the water, that is a resurrection. The people of Israel passed through the Red Sea, and, typically speaking, were buried and resurrected and came forth on the other side of the sea in the wilderness. Negatively speaking the Wilderness is a place of scarcity, sufferings, trails, testing, temptations to deny Christ, surrendering yourself etc. On other occasions we point out that from its positive perspective, the wilderness signifies separation unto God in resurrection. So regarding the children of Israel, who are a type of the believers today, the crossing of the Red Sea portrays baptism with the steps of death, burial, and resurrection.

What is particularly significant, however, is that Pharaoh and his chariots perished in the waters of the Red Sea. Pharaoh typifies Satan, and Egypt typifies the world as a realm of both enjoyment and slavery. The children of Israel were slaves under Pharaoh’s oppression. This indicates that as unbelievers we were slaves under the dictatorship and usurpation of Satan. Once we believed in Christ and began to make our exodus from the world, Satan resisted and even pursued us. But God in His wisdom took this as an opportunity, through baptism, to deal severely with Satan and the world. Recall how Pharaoh and his chariots perished in the waters of the Red Sea. This indicates that baptism signifies the termination of Satan and the world system organized by him to oppress us and seize us.

If we have this picture in view when we speak of baptism, we will realize that baptism is a tremendously significant step in the completion of our experience of God’s salvation. Through baptism we pass through death and enter into resurrection. Through baptism we are delivered from Satan and the world. We believe it is a spiritual fact and reality in the sight of God that in the waters of baptism lie buried not only our old man but also Satan and the seizing, oppressing world under his dominion. This is a striking picture. Baptism is a momentous event in a believer’s life. The revelation of baptism is both in picture and in word profoundly significant. We very much appreciate the picture in Exodus of our salvation through water and of Satan’s termination through the same water that has saved us. This is baptism as portrayed in the book of Exodus.

IDENTIFIED WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH
AND RESURRECTION

Since we all were born in Adam, how can we say that we are now in Christ?

A. Baptized into Christ

In Romans 6:3 Paul says, “Are you ignorant that as many of us as have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Although we were born in the first person, Adam, we have been baptized into the second person, Christ. Baptism means to be put into Christ and into His death. Whether we were good or bad, we were born in Adam. Now we see another man, Christ. 

How can we get into Him and be a part of Him? The way is to be baptized into Christ. The meaning of baptism is to put people into Christ. It is not a ritual or a form; it is an extremely significant experience. A spiritual transfer must happen in the act of baptism, and if we do not have a realization of this, we should not touch the matter of baptism. Never baptize people in a ritualistic way. We must have the assurance and the realization that as we baptize people we are putting them into Christ. Once we realize the significance of baptism we will not allow it to degenerate into an outward form or ritual. Baptism is an act in which we put the members of Adam into death, thereby transferring them out of Adam and into Christ. People are baptized into Christ. “into” in Romans 6:3. Whenever we baptize people, we only care that we put them into Christ. 

Praise the Lord that we have been baptized into Christ! Although we were born in Adam, by baptism we have been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. Through death and resurrection Christ was transfigured from the flesh into the Spirit. Even Christ Himself needed death and resurrection to transform Him from the flesh to the Spirit. Likewise, through identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, we have been transferred out of Adam and into Christ. When we were baptized into Christ, we were transferred from being a part of Adam into being a part of Christ. Now we are no longer in Adam. We are absolutely in Christ. This is the fact of identification. Now we must see and understand clearly two further points related to this.

B. Baptized into His Death—Grown Together
with Him in the Likeness of His Death

Romans 6:5 says that “we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death.” What does this mean? The phrase “likeness of His death” in Romans 6:5 refers to baptism. Baptism is the likeness of the death of Christ. In baptism, we have grown up together with Christ. This phrase “grown together” has the same Greek word is used in Luke 8:7 to speak of the thorns which grew up together with the wheat. Likewise, we have grown together with Christ. When we were baptized into Christ, in one sense we were put to death; in another sense we began to grow. This very much resembles the sowing of seed into the earth. Apparently/outwardly, the seed is sown; actually/in reality, it begins to grow. By being baptized into Christ we have all grown together with Christ in the likeness of His death. Since we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, we are now growing together with Him. We have grown, yet we are growing.

C. Walking in Newness of Life

We also are growing together with Christ in the likeness of His resurrection (Romans 6:4-5). What is the likeness of His resurrection? It is the newness of life. We all should walk in this newness of life. We all must see these two points. We must see that we have grown together with Christ in baptism and that we grow together with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, that is, in the newness of His resurrected life. If we see this, it means that we see that we have died with Him and that now we are growing with Him. We were buried with Him in baptism and now we are growing with Him in His resurrection, in His divine life. We must walk according to what we see, that is, walk in the newness of life.

II. KNOWING AND RECKONING

A. Knowing by Seeing

In Romans 5 we were born in Adam and were constituted sinners. In Romans 6 we have been baptized into Christ and we have been identified with His death and resurrection. Now we are in Christ. Since we are in Him, whatever He has passed through is our history. He has been crucified and resurrected. Thus, His crucifixion and resurrection are ours. This is a glorious fact. We need to see this, not just to understand it. We need to pray that the Lord will give us a clear vision of the glorious fact that we are in Him, and that we have been crucified and resurrected with Him. To know this we need to see such a vision. Such a vision is basic to our knowing. After we see a certain thing, we can never say that we do not know it. God has accomplished the glorious fact of putting us into Christ; we have been crucified and resurrected with Him.

Our knowing is based upon our seeing, and our seeing comes from the vision. We need a vision to see our co-crucifixion with Christ in Romans 6:6-7, and our co-resurrection with Christ in Romans 6:8-10. If we have seen these two aspects of the fact of our identification with Christ, we know that we are dead to sin and alive to God.

Here it is not a matter based upon our believing, but a matter absolutely based upon our seeing. When, by a vision, we see this glorious fact we cannot help but believe it and realize that we have died with Christ and also have been raised with Him. By this kind of seeing we know with full assurance that we are dead to sin and alive to God.

I must emphasize once again that we need a vision to see the glorious fact revealed in Romans 6. Many Christians have the doctrinal knowledge of Romans 6 but have never seen a vision of the fact unveiled in this chapter. To understand a thing doctrinally is altogether different from seeing that very thing in a vision. This problem regarding Romans 6 is prevalent among Christians. Many think that they understand the doctrine of Romans 6, but have not seen the fact by way of a vision. Many stress the matter of believing. But if you do not see the fact, it will be difficult for you to believe by your doctrinal understanding. Once you see it in a vision, you will have faith in it spontaneously. Hence, what Paul means by “Knowing this” is actually the seeing of a fact in a spiritual vision. Thus, we all must pray that the Lord will deliver us from contentment with a mere doctrinal understanding of Romans 6 and grant us a clear vision in our spirit that we may see the glorious fact revealed in this chapter. Then we will know it in its reality.

B. Reckoning by Believing

Based upon our seeing of the fact revealed in Romans 6, we must do our accounting work. We must reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11). On the one hand, we must reckon ourselves dead to sin; on the other hand, we must reckon ourselves alive to God. This reckoning is based upon our seeing. I have seen that I have died with Christ and that I am growing with Christ in His resurrection. Therefore, automatically and continually, I reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God. This is a matter of accounting. Under our account we have a great credit item—dead to sin and alive to God.

Reckoning is a matter of believing produced by seeing. Having seen the facts, we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God by believing that we have been crucified and resurrected with Christ. Once we have seen the fact, we believe that we are such. Then we reckon by believing what we have seen.

Many Christians have been taught the technique of reckoning themselves dead, and many have practiced this technique. Eventually, as all can prove, the technique does not work. It is not a matter of technique; it is a matter of seeing the fact that results in reckoning with a spontaneous faith. Simply using the technique of reckoning according to the doctrinal understanding without seeing the fact will always end in failure. Only after the Apostle Paul mentions the matter of knowing by seeing the fact (Romans. 6:6-10) does he direct us to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans.6:11). Reckoning needs the seeing which results in believing. If we have seen the fact, we will believe it and reckon on it accordingly.